India’s Rising Global Power: U.S. Defense Secretary Calls It a “Great Power” as It Strengthens Maritime and Military Muscle

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in Singapore that India is a strong country that is modernizing its military, while also claiming that President Donald Trump played a key role in restoring peace between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor last year. India has repeatedly rejected that claim, saying the ceasefire was reached directly between New Delhi and Islamabad without any third-party mediation.

Hegseth made the remarks on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the annual security forum in Singapore that brings together defense ministers and senior military officials from around the world. This year, representatives from 44 countries attended the meeting. In his speech, Hegseth touched on India, Pakistan, China, the broader Indo-Pacific region, and the future of U.S. defense policy.

Referring to the India-Pakistan conflict that followed the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed, Hegseth said Trump helped broker peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. The U.S. president and American officials have repeatedly made the same claim. India, however, has firmly maintained that the ceasefire came through direct military and diplomatic contact between the two countries and that no outside country was involved in any mediation.

Hegseth said India and Pakistan will continue to view each other with concern and will likely keep strengthening their military capabilities, including missile systems, to protect their own security. At the same time, he stressed that the United States does not consider either country an enemy.

The American defense chief also praised Pakistan, saying that Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are playing an important role in peace talks. He described this as a positive and unusual development. Pakistan is currently serving as a channel in talks between the United States and Iran. A meeting between the two sides was held in Islamabad last month, but no agreement was reached. Sharif has said another round of talks is expected soon in the Pakistani capital.

Turning to India, Hegseth said the country is a major power and is steadily modernizing its armed forces. He said India is helping maintain the balance of power in the Indian Ocean region and is building up its industrial and supply capabilities to meet large defense needs. He also said the United States has pledged to work with India to co-produce weapons and military equipment.

Hegseth further outlined Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, calling the Asia-Pacific region the world’s most important theater. He said the United States wants to preserve peace and balance in the region and does not want any single country to dominate it. He directly mentioned China, saying that no nation, including China, should impose its hegemony there. At the same time, he added that the U.S. does not seek conflict with China and that relations have improved since Trump’s time in office.

He also said wealthy countries should pay for their own security and that the United States will not continue to fund their defense. According to him, Washington wants partners, not nations that depend entirely on American support. He praised countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and India for investing in their own defense.